EFF Launches File-Sharing Ads

An ad from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) intended for the more
than 60 million U.S. residents sharing music files online appeared in
Rolling Stone's August 9 issue and became available on newsstands on
Friday, July 18.

The EFF ad -- part of an ongoing campaign to protect the rights of people
sharing music online while compensating artists -- shows several music fans
in a police-style lineup accused of sharing files online using peer-to-peer
(P2P) technology like Kazaa and Morpheus. The ad copy reads, "Tired of
being treated like a criminal for sharing music online?" and "File-Sharing:
It's Music to Our Ears."

"EFF created the 'Let the Music Play' campaign to raise awareness about
critical changes needed in copyright law and industry practice," explained
EFF Executive Director Shari Steele. "We want to make sure artists get paid
without making criminals out of the over 60 million music lovers who use
file sharing networks in the U.S."

The EFF ad will also appear in Spin, Blender, Vibe, PC Gamer, and Computer
Gaming World over the next two months.

Links:

For a print-quality TIFF of the ad, please email ren@eff.org with the words
"P2P Ad" in the subject line.

Misguided "Anti-Piracy" Bill Introduced in Congress

Members of the U.S. Congress July 17 introduced the Author, Consumer, and
Computer Owner Protection and Security (ACCOPS) Act of 2003, targeting for
criminal prosecution the 60 million Americans engaged in Internet file
sharing of music and movies.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) criticized the measure as an
overbroad and misguided attack on peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing
technology.

"Jailing people for file sharing is not the answer," noted EFF Senior Staff
Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "Proponents of this bill are casting aside
privacy, innovation, and even our personal liberty as collateral damage in
their war against file sharing."

The ACCOPS bill was introduced in the House of Representatives today by
Representatives Conyers, Berman, Schiff, Meehan, Wexler, and Weiner, all
member of the House Judiciary Committee. Write your Congressperson today
and urge them to stop this legislation.

Links:

Security Researchers Discover Huge Flaws in E-Voting System

EFF Supports E-Voting Law

San Francisco - In response to the July 23 release of research about
critical security flaws in e-voting systems, the Electronic Frontier
Foundation (EFF) urged immediate passage of e-voting legislation to prevent
election fraud.

Security researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Rice University
announced that they have discovered numerous serious security flaws
in what they believe is one of the leading e-voting systems in the country
-- the Diebold Election Systems' e-voting terminal.

Among the security flaws discovered were several ways in which individual
voters could vote multiple times in a given election. The researchers also
uncovered methods permitting voters to "trick" the e-voting machines into
allowing them system administrator privileges or even terminating an
election before tallying all legitimate votes.

"Only with open review, vigorous security testing, and a voter verifiable
paper audit trail can the public have confidence that e-voting machines
will provide an actual accounting of the will of the people," said EFF
Activist Ren Bucholz. "We urge everyone who cares about democracy to
support effective e-voting legislation."

Concerned citizens can voice their support for Representative Holtz's bill
to require open source e-voting systems and voter verifiable paper audit
trails.

Electronic Frontier Foundation Renews Copyright Request

Asks Copyright Office to Allow Consumer CD/DVD Uses

San Francisco - The U.S. Copyright Office on July 22 posted comments from
the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) requesting protection for certain
consumer uses of DVDs.

EFF urged the Register of Copyrights and the Librarian of Congress to grant
exemptions to the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) ban on
circumventing technological locks that prevent consumers from fully
enjoying the digital media they have purchased.

"We welcome the Copyright Office's interest in understanding the real
impact of the DMCA on consumers' everyday non-infringing uses of CDs and
DVDs," stated EFF Staff Attorney Gwen Hinze. "We have urged the Copyright
Office to grant exemptions to remove the DMCA's chilling effect on
consumers' existing rights and to restore the constitutionally-mandated
balance to copyright law."

EFF filed the comments in response to questions posed by the Copyright
Office following public hearings held in April and May 2003. In oral
testimony and post-hearing comments, EFF asked the Copyright Office to
grant exemptions to give consumers guidance about legal uses of the digital
media they have purchased.

The Copyright Office asked for further information about how DVD technology
works. In particular, it asked if the Content Scramble System (CSS) on DVD
movies, along with the ban on bypassing CSS, prevents consumers from
legally modifying DVD players to fast forward through "unskippable"
advertisements and play foreign movies on U.S. DVD players. The Copyright
Office has also asked the RIAA to identify the number and titles of copy-
protected CDs released in the U.S.

The comments are part of the Copyright Office's tri-ennial review of the
impact of the DMCA's ban on circumvention of technological protection
measures that control access to digital works. The Copyright Register and
Librarian of Congress can grant exemptions from the DMCA ban for particular
protected works if the Copyright Office finds that the prohibition has
resulted in, or is likely to result in, substantial adverse impact on
users' non-infringing uses in the next three years.

Party in the Park at EFF's Freedom Fest 2003!

The Electronic Frontier Foundation is proud to host EFF's Freedom Fest 2003
on Saturday, August 9, from Noon to 5pm at Golden Gate Park's Music
Concourse Bandshell. This free event will showcase an eclectic lineup of
performers, including award-winning Bay Area musicians and an array of
other talented artists.

Hosted by EFF's John Perry Barlow, the afternoon is a celebration of Bay
Area talent and an opportunity for them to share their music.

"The day is to celebrate freedom, and we can't think of a better way to do
that than through free music and variety performances in Golden Gate Park,"
said EFF Executive Director Shari Steele. "We're thrilled to have such an
impressive lineup for this event. It's truly a reflection of the caliber of
talent that resides here in the Bay Area."

The performers that were selected for this year's event represent an
extraordinary combination of Bay Area artists, many of whom have earned
critical acclaim and become nationally recognized acts.

"I've known about EFF and its pursuit of digital rights for years," said
Tommy Boy/Warner Bros recording artist, Austin Willacy. "When they
approached me about performing at EFF's Freedom Fest 2003, it struck me as
a great way to both share my music with Bay Area residents and educate the
community about EFF and all the great work they're doing on our
behalf."

In addition to the musical performers, EFF's Freedom Fest 2003 will also
feature a variety of other performers, including:

Ashley Foster, the One Wheeled Wonder

Willy Bologna and his Sideshow Circus

Frantastic Hands, chair massage

Cat Hare, juggler extraordinaire

Technomania Circus, vaudeville and variety performers

KFOG 104.5/97.7 morning radio host Peter Finch will be making a special
appearance at the event to introduce the bands and host the KFOG booth.
Concert attendees can stop by to meet folks from the critically-acclaimed
rock station and enter the EFF Freedom Fest 2003 Contest.

Links:

Digital Mix: A Special BayFF Celebrating Illegal Art

On July 25, the Electronic Frontier Foundation will host a night of music,
art, and conversation to celebrate digital culture. Hosted at the Black
Box in downtown Oakland, this special BayFF will bring up-and-coming
artists of electronica, digital film, and illegal art together with leaders
from the cyber-rights movement. Lawsuits and legislation have become the
weapons of choice for dealing with file-sharing and cultural recycling
("sampling"); come out and discover what all the hype is about. Between
laptop music, hip hop, and industrial performances, you will hear from
people who are fighting to protect new forms of expression and cultural
distribution from the attacks of the entertainment industry. This is an
all-ages event.

Links:

Volunteer in our Fight Against DirecTV

EFF needs a volunteer to help defend innocent people being threatened and
sued by DirecTV. In the face of a massive campaign to extract money from
technology consumers merely for purchasing certain devices, we're building
a "DirecTV Defense" website to support the fight back. Among the resources
on the site will be a database of attorneys with experience defending
DirecTV cases, so users can quickly locate someone they can call for help.

We have e-mail questionnaires from about 50 lawyers and need to get their
answers into an Excel spreadsheet to take this vital information live. This
is where you come in. It's an easy but important job: read the
questionnaires and input the answers into the appropriate fields. No extra
back flips required.

The sooner we post this info, the sooner we can slow the steamroll of
DirecTV's intimidation campaign. Please lend a hand!

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